Coronaviruses (CoVs), a subfamily of Orthocoronavirinae, are viruses that sometimes present a zoonotic character. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is responsible for the recent outbreak of COVID-19, which, since its outbreak in 2019, has caused about 774,593,066 confirmed cases and 7,028,881 deaths. Aereosols are the main route of transmission among people; however, viral droplets can contaminate surfaces and fomites as well as particulate matter (PM) in suspensions of natural and human origin. Honey bees are well known bioindicators of the presence of pollutants and PMs in the environment as they can collect a great variety of substances during their foraging activities. The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible role of honey bees as bioindicators of the prevalence SARS-CoV-2. In this regard, 91 samples of honey bees and 6 of honey were collected from different apiaries of Campania region (Southern Italy) in four time periods from September 2020 to June 2022 and were analyzed with Droplet Digital RT-PCR for SARS-CoV-2 target genes Orf1b and N. The screening revealed the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in 12/91 in honey bee samples and in 2/6 honey samples. These results suggest that honey bees could also be used as indicators of outbreaks of airborne pathogens such as SARS-CoV-2.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11126096 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/v16050729 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Prevalence of pathogens in abnormal honey bees in South Korea, 2020-2023.
J Vet Diagn Invest
January 2025
Department of Veterinary Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Seoul National University, Republic of Korea.
South Korea's beekeeping industry has been facing a major crisis due to colony collapse disorder (CCD), manifesting since the winter of 2021. CCD in South Korea is presumed to be caused by a combination of factors, including an abnormal climate, pesticide use, declining source plants, and increased honey bee diseases. We examined the prevalence of 12 major honey bee () pathogens by sampling 3,707 colonies with abnormal behavior and suspected pathogen infections from 1,378 apiaries nationwide between 2020 and 2023.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIsolation and probiotic evaluation of Apilactobacillus kunkeei and Bombella sp. from Apis mellifera anatoliaca and Bombus terrestris.
Int Microbiol
January 2025
Science Faculty, Department of Biology, Karadeniz Technical University, Trabzon, Türkiye.
The Anatolian honey bee (Apis mellifera anatoliaca) and Bombus terrestris are important species in Türkiye. In this context, protecting the health of these honey bees is particularly important. Lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and acetic acid bacteria (AAB) are very important for the health of bees.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRegional patterns and climatic predictors of viruses in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies over time.
Sci Rep
January 2025
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Michael Smith Laboratories, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, V6T 1Z4, Canada.
Honey bee viruses are serious pathogens that can cause poor colony health and productivity. We analyzed a multi-year longitudinal dataset of abundances of nine honey bee viruses (deformed wing virus A, deformed wing virus B, black queen cell virus, sacbrood virus, Lake Sinai virus, Kashmir bee virus, acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus, and Israeli acute paralysis virus) in colonies located across Canada to describe broad trends in virus intensity and occurrence among regions and years. We also tested climatic variables (temperature, wind speed, and precipitation) as predictors in an effort to understand possible drivers underlying seasonal patterns in viral prevalence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFApisTox: a new benchmark dataset for the classification of small molecules toxicity on honey bees.
Sci Data
January 2025
Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics, Polish Academy of Sciences, Warsaw, Poland.
The global decline in bee populations poses significant risks to agriculture, biodiversity, and environmental stability. To bridge the gap in existing data, we introduce ApisTox, a comprehensive dataset focusing on the toxicity of pesticides to honey bees (Apis mellifera). This dataset combines and leverages data from existing sources such as ECOTOX and PPDB, providing an extensive, consistent, and curated collection that surpasses the previous datasets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeonicotinoid Pesticides in African Agriculture: What do we know and what should be the focus for future research?
Chemosphere
December 2024
Department of Environmental Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA. Electronic address:
This review provides a comprehensive overview of the direct and indirect effects of neonicotinoid pesticides (NEO-P) within African agricultural ecosystems and identifies research gaps, particularly in the monitoring and regulation of pesticide use. We observed a decline in the numbers of NEO-P studies conducted in Africa since 2019 with 40.7% of the countries reporting at least one study to date.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!